Heavy rainfall expected as Storm Aileen sweeps in

Heavy rain warnings have been issued by weather forecasters in Ireland and Britain ahead of Storm Aileen’s arrival over the coming hours, although the north west may escape the worst effects.

Both Met Eireann and the Met Office have issued Status Yellow warnings for much of Ireland, with a risk of flooding in some areas from Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning.

The expected heavy rainfall comes on top of the storms and showers which have already pummelled many regions over the past month. As of Tuesday afternoon, the north west is expected to be less affected by Storm Aileen although it will not escape the persistent heavy showers.

In the north, the Met Eireann Yellow warning for wind and rain is in place for Counties Fermanagh, Armagh and Down.

Met Eireann in its forecast for Ulster this evening has stated: “Heavy rain is expected later on Tuesday and early on Wednesday.

“This may cause flooding on the transport network, with spray and difficult driving conditions due to the combination of rain and wind.

“There is also a small chance of flooding affecting homes and businesses.”

Storm Aileen is the first named storm of Autumn 2017 and the Met Office in the UK said that deepening area of low pressure will bring very strong winds across much of England and Wales during Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.

An Amber National Severe Weather Warning is in place for these areas, while the Met Office has also issued a yellow weather warning for rain for parts of Northern Ireland, Northern England and Southern Scotland.

The Met Office’s Chief Forecaster Frank Saunders said: “Storm Aileen is expected to bring strong winds of up to 75mph to a central segment of the UK and an Amber weather warning has been issued. As well as the strong winds, there will be some heavy rain pushing eastwards overnight which could see accumulations of 30-40mm. The low pressure system that is bringing these strong winds will move fairly swiftly from west to east over the UK and although there will still be some disruption through Wednesday morning, the winds will ease by the afternoon leaving a day of blustery showers.”

There has been some speculation that this weather is being driven by the severe weather in the Caribbean and US, there is no such connection.

Met Office Deputy Meteorologist Chris Tubbs said: “There are no links between the very strong winds we expect to see here in the UK and the hurricanes affecting the United States and the Caribbean at present. This system originated well north in the Atlantic Ocean, independent of the current Caribbean hurricanes”.